Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a golf shoe having a sole which is provided with spikes which consist each of a shank and a pressure-applying plate and are axially movably mounted in a resilient abutment.
Description of the Prior Art
In the playing of golf, the striking of the ball and the walking over distances sometimes amounting to a mile or more require the golfer to perform two kinds of motion, which are highly different. For this reason a good golf shoe must permit the golfer to stand firmly for the striking action and must provide a convenient support for the foot of the walking player. In order to improve the stand of the golfer it is known to provide the sole of the shoe with various nails or spikes. To ensure that the spikes can be kept clean and that the action of the spikes can be controlled in dependence on the nature of the ground, it has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,608 and in German Pat. No. 930,798 to embed the spikes in a resilient abutment. But in said known shoes the pressure-applying plate of each spike is secured to the underside of the sole and the abutment layer is also attached to the underside of the sole so that the spikes and the sole cannot move relative to each other and the load is distributed by the relatively stiff sole throughout the area thereof so that it is not possible to control the action of individual spikes as may be required. For this reason it is not possible to control the extending and retracting motion of the spikes out of and into the abutment in response, to the peculiar turning and rolling movement performed by the foot when the golfer is about to strike the ball, and the walking motion is also adversely affected by the fact that the spikes are directly connected to the sole so that the golfer will suffer from fatigue particularly during a prolonged walk. Besides, the abutment layer provided on the underside of the sole will contact the ground and will be subjected to other external influences and may easily be damaged. Such damage can hardly be prevented by the provision of a protective outer layer, which would also stiffen the sole.
Similar conditions regarding the action of the spikes will be obtained if, in accordance with Published German Application No. 30 46 811, the spikes are firmly screwed into the sole and are provided with a resiliently supported plug, which is formed with a screw hole. Owing to the provision of that plug, walking is even less convenient.
It is known from Published German Application No. 30 14 254 to provide shoes having a heel, which is formed with bores, in which spike nails are guided, which are supported by means of compression springs and are adapted to be actuated by means of pressure-applying ribs and to be locked by means of a sheet metal slide. But such an arrangement is expensive and occupies a large space and is hardly reliable in use. Such an arrangement cannot be used at all in sports shoes, particularly in golf shoes.